India

If the mission of the BBC is to “Inform, Educate and Entertain” then they could take several lessons from Steve Kirby and Paul Redman who did all of that and more for an audience of enthralled pilots at the December Social. We were delighted to welcome 5 new faces belonging to some aspiring and recently-qualified pilots; let’s all do our best to make them feel at home in the PSC.

This was so much more than just a run-through of flights, as they packed in a whole world of sight-seeing and exploration of this fascinating country. Gradually drawing us in to the sights, sounds and overwhelming sensory experience that is India. Paul and Steve broke their journey up into 3 stages – the initial sight-seeing tour, followed by a free-wheeling adventure trip through the country before culminating in the full-on experience that is flying at Bir. They packed their talks with a wealth of facts and tips such as how to avoid getting your satellite tracker confiscated.

Thanks so much Paul and Steve for sharing your experiences, and being so open about your reflections on the flying. Inspiring stuff, and a lot of food for thought. To get a flavour of the talk, here is a link to some of their photos and videos.

https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphotos.app.goo.gl%2FnWYQnNEHNbWPtM8y7&data=05%7C02%7C%7C442c0561f9504a4e1f0008dd19123e4d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638694288321510357%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=K9P%2FA6L8jhWyFjwSq1xaodb0fLJjRA1PF6sbWLFC1YQ%3D&reserved=0

Pennine Soaring Club first Club Night of the season. Weather forecasting to fly. Various speakers to help to simplify good to fly, safe to fly and choosing the correct site.

Thanks to Brian Stewart, Andy Archer, Simon Baillie and Neil Charles for presenting.

Links to sites mentioned:
RASP - https://rasp.stratus.org.uk/
LazyRASP - https://lazyrasp.com/
XCWeather - https://www.xcweather.co.uk/
Weather School - https://weatherschool.co.uk/
Weather School YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/WeatherSchool
WeatherWebdotNet - https://premium.weatherweb.net/
Met Office Aviation Briefing Service - https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/transport/aviation/regulated/national-aviation/uk-services/pre-flight-briefing-services/abs/index
Mountain Weather Information Service - https://www.mwis.org.uk/
Wind At Altitude - Hilltop Analytics - https://apps.hilltop-analytics.com/weather/

Here is Brian's presentation from the night:

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Hi all,

We have been informed about an accident that occurred on Pendle Hill on Sunday 11th August 24.  There are limited details regarding the circumstances of the incident or the condition of the injured pilot, but wish him a speedy recovery. 

We are unsure whether the injured pilot was a PSC member or a visiting pilot.  If anyone does have further information please let our Safety Officer Barry know by email safety@penninesoaringclub.org.uk.  There maybe safety learning point that other members or visitors could benefit from.

As Sites Officer can I remind members that we have been asked not to fly the east side of Pendle Hill, this is at the request of the landowner.  Use of the east face could jeopardise our continued use of the NW face of the hill.

Can all members and visiting pilots please familiarise themselves with the sites guide for Pendle and any other of the PSC sites?

http://www.penninesoaringclub.org.uk/sites/pendle/ 

Thanks

Andy Archer

PSC Site Officer

sites@penninesoaringclub.org.uk

Winter Hill Transmitter Mast is now a construction site and under the control of a contractor, this is due to replacement of the stay lines that are supporting the structure. The contractor will be managing the site from now until the 3rd of October 2024 and there will be some periods of significantly reduced access when the new stays are being lifted over and alongside the site access road, the work will also include weekend work.

During working hours the gates on site will be locked and set to a code held by the contractor, out of hours (from 6pm – 8am) the code for the gates will be set to the same code as the Winter Hill barrier at the bottom of the hill.

The site managers contact details will be displayed on the gate however he is very unlikely to give access during normal working hours without a permit to work or legitimate cause to drive further up the hill to reach the other masts. 

As such can I ask for this period, that members avoid using the access track? instead please park on the car park on Rivington Road and walk up the front face of the hill to take off.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/FDkwkiKyyyWwwcXPA

Arqiva the mast operators apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Thanks

Andy Archer

PSC Sites Officer